Boot tree

ABSTRACT

A boot tree formed by rolling a plastic perforated sheet into a hollow frusto-conical shape, opened at opposite ends, and including means for releasably securing the overlying portions of the rolled plastic sheet such that the frusto-conical shape of the rolled sheet may be selectively varied to permit the insertion of the boot tree into boot legs of various sizes. The boot tree may be unfolded and flattened for easy storage.

United States Patent [191 6/1906 Essen l2/l 14.6

Lutz 1March 20,1973

[541 BOOT TREE 2,025,173 12/1935 Meyer .1. 412/1145 7 I t 1 1 L 6] men or ggi i g :2 Park Aveml Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Andrew R. Basile [22] Filed: April 15, 1971 211 App]. No.: 134,151 1 A T A boot tree formed by rolling a plastic perforated 52] U S C] 12/114 6 sheet into a hollow frusto-conica] shape, opened at op- [sl] Ink .Cl 5/60 posite ends, and including means for releasably sect I g the overlying portions of the rolled plastic Sheet [58] Field of seal-dimly l 1152 128 R such that the frusto-conical shape of the rolled sheet may be selectively varied to permit the insertion of the [56] References Cl-ted boot tree into boot legs of various sizes. The boot tree UNITED STATES PATENTS may be unfolded and flattened for easystorage. 823,853 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMARZO m5 3.120370 1/404? a/rmea Ana/015 BOOT TREE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to boot trees and, in particular, to an adjustable boot tree adapted to ventilate the interior of a boot while maintaining the boot leg in an uprightposition when the boot is not in use.

2. Description of the Prior Art Today, womens boots which have legs of knee length and, in particular, womens boots of the type in which the bootlegs are form fitted, that is, the boot legs are contoured to closely follow the form of the leg of the wearer, have become quite common. It is also common for womens boots of this type to be work for substantial portions of the day as these boots now provide a decorative function, in addition to protecting the wearers foot. After a boot has been worn several hours, the inner lining of the boot tends to become damp due to the perspiration of the wearer and thus, when the boot is not being worn, the linings must be exposed to fresh air for a sufficient amount of time in order for the linings to properly dry, otherwise the wearer will find the boot uncomfortable upon reuse. The problem of proper ventilation is complicated due to the construction of presently worn boots, in that they are usually formed of a thin leather or plastic material, and thus, the boot leg normally has very little rigidity and will not remain in an upright position when not in use and normally falls to one side of the boot. In addition to presenting a storage problem for boots when the boot legs do not remain in an upright position, the drying of theboot linings issubstantially retarded as the thin boot leg generally folds over a sufficient amount to prevent an adequate ventilation of the interior of the boot. In present used boot trees which employ a mechanical mechanism to maintain the shape of the boot leg, a considerable amount of pressure is exerted on the boot lining and, although these boot trees are effective for their intended purpose, they tend to crush heavy pile lining, such as fur lining, and prevent adequate drying of the same.

It would therefore be desirable to provide a boot tree I which will maintain the boot leg in an upright position, while providing an adequate ventilation of the boot for drying the lining of the boot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION provide a boot tree constructed in such a mannerthat the same may be selectively adjusted for use with boots of different sizes.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a boot tree which may be easily stored when not in use,

and which is of a simple construction and inexpensive to manufacture. v

Other objects, advantages, and applications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art of boot trees when the accompanying description of one example of the present invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially sectioned view of a womans boot in which is installed a boot tree constructed according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the boot tree illus- V trated in FIG. 1 with the boot tree shown in an unfolded condition; and I FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the boot tree taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing and, in particular to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a womans boot having a shoe portion 12 and a leg portion 14 into which is inserted a boot tree 16 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

The boot tree 16 comprises a flat sheet 17 formed from a pliable material, such-ac plastic, and has two smaller cross section than the upper opened portion of the formed boot tree associated with the edge 22. I

The sheet has a plurality of aligned apertures 25, 26 and 27 successively inwardly spaced from the longer edge 18 and respectively, vertically spaced from one another. The apertures 25, 26 and 27 are adapted to respectively receive fastening members 28, 29 and 30 which, in turn, are vertically spaced along the inner face of the roller sheet 7 inwardly from the longer edge 20. When the sheet 17 is rolled into a conical shape, the inner face of the sheet 17 associated with the edge 20 overlies the outer face of the sheet 17 associated with edge 18 and are secured to each other by a snap-like engagement of the fastening members 28, 29 and 30 respectively with apertures 25, 26 and 27. By selectively securingthe fastening members 28, 29 and 30 with the successively aligned apertures 25, 26 and 27, the resultant cross-section of the, boot tree 1-6 may be adjustably varied, wherebyone standard sized sheet 17 may be selectively shaped for use within boots of different sizes. In the preferred embodiment, the sheet 17 is fabricated from plastic, while the fastening members 28-30 are integrally formed projection of the sheet 17, however, other forms of fasteners may be used.

In use, after the boot 10 has been worn and the wearer desires to store the boot 10 to ventilate the in terior thereof, the sheet 17 is rolled in the described manner with the fastening members 28, 29 and 30 inserted in the appropriate apertures 25, 26 and27, such that the boot tree 16 takes on a contour loosely fitting the inner contour of the boot leg 14. The smaller crosssectional portion of the boot tree 16, that is, the portion of the boot tree 16 associated with the edge 24, is first inserted within the bootleg l4 and forced downwardly toward a resting position upon the inner wall of the heel of the boot shoe portion 12. Due to the rigidity of the rolled boot tree 16, the boot leg 14 will remain in an upright position wherein it may be more easily stored and, in addition, maintain the shape and appearance of the boot leg 14. Although the edge 24 is illustrated as abutting the inner wall of the boot heel, the boot tree 16 will function equally as well when the edge 24 is upwardly spaced from the heel.

The sheet 17 also has a plurality of perforations 32 extending across the entire surface thereof, the perforations 32 being somewhat smaller than the apertures 25, 26 and 27 associated with the fastening members 28-30. Since the hollow interior of the rolled boot tree 16 is opened at its opposite ends, and when the lower edge 24 is upwardly spaced from the heel, fresh air may be passed through the boot tree 16 and down into the shoe portion 12 of the boot to ventilate the same and facilitate its drying. When the lower edge 24 abuts the heel, the perforations 32 proximate the edge 24 accommodate the passage of air into the shoe portion to ventilate the same. Since' a substantial portion of the surface of the boot tree 16 has the aforementioned perforations 32, the adjacent surface of the lining of the boot leg 14 will likewise be ventilated by the air circulating through the boot tree 16 to facilitate a rapid drying of the boot lining. Since the sheet 17 is preferably constructed from a plastic material, its shape, the apertures 25-27, the fastening members 28-30 and the perforations 32 may all be formed in one operation, as for example, the completely formed sheet 17 may be press molded. The plastic material should be of a pliable nature to facilitate the rolling and unrolling of the sheet 17 without damage, while being of sufficient thickness to provide the needed strength and rigidity to maintain the boot leg 14in an upright position.

When the boot tree 16 is not in use, the same may be unrolled by simply disengaging the fastening members 2880 from their respective apertures 25-27 with the sheet 17 being laid flat for easy storage or the like.

It can thus be seen that the present invention has provided a boot tree adapted to maintain a boot leg in an upright position, while allowing the circulation of air through the boot to facilitate its drying, which boot tree may be easily stored when not in use, and which is of a simple and inexpensive construction.

Although only one form of the present invention has been shown, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art of boot trees that other forms may be had, all coming within the spirit of the present invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

A boot tree comprising a flat sheet constructed of a pliable material and having opposing longer edges, said sheet being adapted to be rolled into a hollow frusto conical shape such that a portion of said sheet as sociated with one of said longer edges is positioned adjacent a portion of said sheet associated with the other of said longer edges; and means for releasably securing said sheet portions to each other, said rolled sheet being adapted to be inserted into a boot leg to maintain sheet is perforated.

3. A boot tree comprising a flat sheet constructed of a pliable material and having opposing longer edges, said sheet being adapted to be rolled into a hollow frusto-conical shape such that a portion of said sheet associated with one of said longer edges is positioned adjacent a portion of said sheet associated with the other of said longer edges; and means for releasably securing said sheet portions to each other, said rolled sheet being adapted to be inserted into a boot leg to maintain said boot leg upright, said sheet being constructed from a plastic material. 5

4. The boot tree defined in claim 1 wherein said sheet is constructed of a perforated plastic material.

5. A boot tree comprising a flat sheet constructed of a pliable material and having opposing longer edges, said sheet being adapted to be rolled into a hollow frusto-conical shape such that a portion of said sheet associated with one of said longer edges is positioned adjacent a portion of said sheet associated-with the other of said longer edges; and means for releasably securing said sheet portions to each other, said rolled sheet being adapted to be inserted into a boot leg to maintain said boot leg upright, said means for releasably securing said portions to each other com prising at least one fastening member carried by one of member into said aperture releasably secures said sheet portions to each other.

6. The boot tree defined in claim 5 wherein said sheet is constructed from a plastic material.

7. The boot tree defined in claim 5 wherein one of said sheet portions has a plurality of spaced apertures positioned successively away from its associated longer edge, said fastening member being associated with the other of said sheet portions and being adapted to be selectively engaged with one of said apertures so as to selectively vary the shape of said rolled sheet.

8. The boot tree defined in claim 7 including a plurality of fastening members associated with said other portion and a plurality of apertures successively spaced from said associated longer edge.

9. The boot tree defined in claim 9 wherein said sheet is perforated and formed from a plastic material.

10. The boot tree of claim 9 wherein said rolled sheet is hollow and open at opposite ends. 

-. A boot tree comprising a flat sheet constructed of a pliable material and having opposing longer edges, said sheet being adapted to be rolled into a hollow frusto-conical shape such that a portion of said sheet associated with one of said longer edges is positioned adjacent a portion of said sheet associated with the other of said longer edges; and means for releasably securing said sheet portions to each other, said rolled sheet being adapted to be inserted into a boot leg to maintain said boot leg upright, said sheet portions being releasably secured to each other at selected locations for adjustably varying the shape of said rolled sheet.
 2. The boot tree defined in claim 1 wherein said sheet is perforated.
 3. A boot tree comprising a flat sheet constructed of a pliable material and having opposing longer edges, said sheet being adapted to be rolled into a hollow frusto-conical shape such that a portion of said sheet associated with one of said longer edges is positioned adjacent a portion of said sheet associated with the other of said longer edges; and means for releasably securing said sheet portions to each other, said rolled sheet being adapted to be inserted into a boot leg to maintain said boot leg upright, said sheet being constructed from a plastic material.
 4. The boot tree defined in claim 1 wherein said sheet is constructed of a perforated plastic material.
 5. A boot tree comprising a flat sheet constructed of a pliable material and having opposing longer edges, said sheet being adapted to be rolled into a hollow frusto-conical shape such that a portion of said sheet associated with one of said longer edges is positioned adjacent a portion of said sheet associated with the other of said longer edges; and means for releasably securing said sheet portions to each other, said rolled sheet being adapted to be inserted into a boot leg to maintain said boot leg upright, said means for releasably securing said portions to each other comprising at least one fastening memBer carried by one of said sheet portions and an aperture formed in the other of said sheet portions, said fastening member and aperture being so sized that insertion of said fastening member into said aperture releasably secures said sheet portions to each other.
 6. The boot tree defined in claim 5 wherein said sheet is constructed from a plastic material.
 7. The boot tree defined in claim 5 wherein one of said sheet portions has a plurality of spaced apertures positioned successively away from its associated longer edge, said fastening member being associated with the other of said sheet portions and being adapted to be selectively engaged with one of said apertures so as to selectively vary the shape of said rolled sheet.
 8. The boot tree defined in claim 7 including a plurality of fastening members associated with said other portion and a plurality of apertures successively spaced from said associated longer edge.
 9. The boot tree defined in claim 9 wherein said sheet is perforated and formed from a plastic material.
 10. The boot tree of claim 9 wherein said rolled sheet is hollow and open at opposite ends. 